Should I sell our bunny?

[BunnyBoi]

We got Pepper a month ago, nearly exactly a month ago, and everything has been great. Pepper is really adjusted well and she has plenty of hay and litter and toys to keep her taken care of. We looked up bunny care extensively and have created an amazing environment for pepper, but recently things have gotten very complicated.
We live in an apartment, an apartment that does not allow animals. At first I had just thought it applied to dogs and cats but upon further research, it says “of all types” which includes rabbits. This made us very upset but it’s got me thinking. I am going to be giving birth to my child in August of this year and I was wondering whether or not she would even be okay if I kept her whilst I had a newborn around the two-bedroom apartment. Not only are we not allowed to have Pepper, but I am also concerned with her ability to cope with a new screaming baby while also being a baby herself. I’m getting really worried about my managers coming in to inspect the place and finding her, resulting in us getting kicked out, and I have constant increased anxiety over it.
I don’t know what to do but every time I bring it up to my finance he just says “they won’t find out, we’ll be fine” and basically blows off the whole problem. I am not as confident as he is and I need some kind of advice as to what I should do.
I’ve thought about trying to convince my manager to make an exception for pepper but I also fear that will invite her to come over and inspect our place for signs of pepper leading to us getting kicked out, her saying no and finding pepper and kicking us out, or her just inmediently kicking us out anyways.
We’ve moved her from our bedroom, to our living room, back to our bedroom, and now I’m seriously considering moving her cage into the closet to hide it and allowing her to be outside of it for most of the day. I don’t know what else to do and though I’m here most of the time, I’m not here always.
I’ve suggested taking her to his sisters house for the remainder of our lease {11 months!} or straight up giving her away or selling her altogether.
I really love pepper and we’ve grown so attached to her but I know that if we get caught then we will be kicked out and it’ll go on our record and other places will be wary about letting us rent there. Which will leave he and I and our baby and bunny to move back with our parents until we can figure something else out. I want to keep her with us but I’m scared about the reprocussions of us deciding to keep her anyways.
I really need some advice. I don’t know what to do.

[Kiki]

I understand your concerns about your living situation, however, I don’t think getting rid of Pepper is the answer. I think you could effectively keep her cage in the closet , if she is out most of the day. You said you created a rich environment for her, so giving her away, or selling her could definitely be of great detriment for her. Not to mention, most animals bond with their humans, it can create issues with them moving on/trusting the next person. I also understand your concern about a baby, but I will say this my bf and I argue like no one’s business, I mean loud etc, and Indie adapts just fine. I have never noticed any distress from her.
I really do understand your concern, but maybe when things are calmer you should find a more suitable/appropriate place if you can.

[Sarah]

Hi there, I am not sure if Pepper provides you with any emotional support for things like drepression, an axiety disorder, PTSD etc., but if she does you could look into getting her certified as an emotional support animal. I did this for my rabbit as I have depression and he really helps. Emotional support animals don’t have to abide by the same rules as regular pets. They can live in housing that has a pet free policy for no additional fees or anything. Not sure if this is something that could work for you, since in order to have her certified you have to have an emotional disorder. Hope this helps!

[FlemishDad]

While it is *possible* Pepper could have an issue with the landlord or the baby, most likely there won’t be. Love should be treasured. Why give it up if you don’t have to?

If Pepper isn’t causing property damage, it will be a very low priority issue with the landlord. Plat the innocent if you get caught – say you thought it was allowed under the pet policy.

[BunnyBoi]

Hi there!
I actually do have severe anxiety and depression and my pregnancy does make it a lot worse. I’ve had anxiety and depression for many years and do see a therapist regarding it. If I did go about getting my bunny certified, would I have to go up to the landlord and simply state “hi, I have a bunny and she’s certified so we’re gonna keep her in our place,” or just not say anything unless we get caught or ?
My fiancé and I totally did forget that we had talked about this before with other animals and I didn’t know you could do it with rabbits but I do have the means for it as I am home alone most of the day and I do get pretty upset when I’m by myself, which is why he bought me our bunny.
Thanks a ton for your reply, I don’t want to get rid of Pepper and this might just be a lifesaver for us

[Sarah]

Im glad I could help! What I did was I went through a therapist, which is the most foolproof way to go. I got a letter saying that my rabbit was a certified emotional support animal. In your case, you would them take that letter to your landlord(and it would be a good idea to have some research on emotional support animals ready if your landload doesn’t know about them or starts to argue with you) and after that you shouldn’t have a problem! Just make sure that your therapist writes in the letter that the rabbit must stay with you in your apartment to help with your emotional health. It might be a good idea to bring a sample letter to your therapist in case they don’t know how to write one. Hope everything goes well!

[Asriel and Bombur]

Not that it’s legal, but you can still get evicted for it. John and I both have letters saying the boys are ESAs and we were still evicted for having them, and places have turned us down with them. They can’t state specifically that’s why they won’t give us the place, but as soon as we say we have ESA bunnies we magically don’t get the place

[Sarah]

If you already have the apartment though it shouldn’t be an issue.

[Author]

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